Category: 2010 04 09

Exposing the face… of intolerance

I am an atheist. I think all gods and religions are human creations that were invented to serve us for a variety of emotional, social, cultural and political reasons. As valid and laudable as many of those reasons might be, I still can’t bring myself to believe they actually exist. That ... read more ››

First Nations University Students’ Future Still Uncertain

While the federal government has cut off permanent funding to Regina’s First Nations University amidst a major funding scandal this past winter, their cash injection to save the academic year for the students attending the school may not be enough. Though Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs has put up an additional ... read more ››

NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit Optimistic Despite their Lack of a Funding Commitment

While their funding agreement for the research project they have been conducting over the past five years has not been renewed, the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s Sisters In Spirit is still hopeful that it might be reborn in moving from research to action. For the last five years SIS has ... read more ››

A Lesson In Love And Devotion

I met a new friend about a year ago. Her name is Jessie and she is a big, long-haired golden retriever with a very quiet nature. She is part of the Vokes family who live near Six Nations in southwestern Ontario. Jessie seems to be always at the feet of ... read more ››

The Hollywood Treatment

The staff of Rezolution Pictures, along with their friends, families, colleagues and many of the festival goers at Montreal’s International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) packed the Cinémathèque québécoise for the Montreal premiere of Reel Injun March 25. In a glorious uproar of cheers for the film’s homecoming presentation, its ... read more ››

Making the Masterpiece

They are a hit on Myspace, have hundreds of fans on Facebook and are enormously popular in the Cree Nation. Hot of the heels of launching their first full-length album, CerAmony’s frontman Matthew Iserhoff is proud of the road he has traveled with bandmate/ songwriting partner Pakesso Mukash, even though ... read more ››

The Crees' best friend?

A proposed diamond mine north of Mistissini is much closer to becoming reality after the release of an updated preliminary assessment by the project promoter. On March 23, Stornoway Diamond Corporation announced that the Renard Diamond Project is estimated to contain three times the raw diamonds than originally calculated. The Vancouver-based ... read more ››

An Arresting Experience

Maya Rolbin-Ghanie is Montreal-based independent journalist, creative writer and activist. In March 2009, she founded Missing Justice, an action-based, grassroots solidarity collective that works to eliminate violence and discrimination against Aboriginal women living in Quebec. The collective seeks to consult and collaborate with Aboriginal communities and organizations to foster understanding ... read more ››

A New Approach To Traditional Lands

With the recent referendum on the offshore islands, the Grand Council took measures to involve the youth. Many societies, not only Cree, have had a problem getting the youth to vote on important issues involving the Cree Nation. While using traditional media tools, such as print and radio, the Grand Council ... read more ››

Celebrating the Life of Chief Robert James Weistche

I know most of our readers were disappointed with the obituary on Robert Weistche. I don’t blame you. I was disappointed myself. It came in at the last minute just before we had to go to press. What I received was not what I expected but there was no time ... read more ››

Marching for a Decade

For the 10th year in a row, Val-d’Or residents came out in droves for annual Gabriel Commanda walk which marks the ending of the city’s week for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. According to the Val-d’Or Friendship Centre’s Executive Director, Edith Cloutier, not only was this year’s march special because it ... read more ››

Eating Well & Living Green

“Eating well” and “living green” are the buzz words that appear just about everywhere people are trying to flog their new product, service or living concept these days, whether or not the product is actually good for your health or the environment. At the 2010 edition of the Montreal Eat Well ... read more ››

Policy for the People

Over the last few months, the Grand Council of the Crees/ Cree Regional Authority have created and finally published their own guidelines to follow when it comes to the Crees and mining developers. “Our government was quite worried about what was going on in the Cree world in terms of negotiations ... read more ››

Youth on a Budget

Interim Youth Grand Chief Joey Blacksmith is feeling a pinch in his department’s wallet after the Cree Nation Youth Council saw a sharp drop in their funding compared to the previous year. After receiving $550,000 for their 2009 projects, Blacksmith said the CNYC is only getting $150,000 for 2010 from ... read more ››

Islands in the stream…

I bumped into the chief electoral officer who happily announced the results of the Offshore Islands Agreement referendum held in March which favoured taking our beautiful offshore islands back to our beloved Eeyou Istchee. He showed me with glowing pride the fact that when Eeyouch stand together, they stand more ... read more ››

The Right to Vote

It’s truly amazing the amount of mainstream news coverage Aboriginals saw concerning the emergency debate in Parliament on funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, on March 30. The response the next day from Indian Affairs was to congratulate First Nations on getting the vote 50 years ago. While most First ... read more ››